Lost and Found
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: Based on the Animal Planet movie “The Retrievers", Basically the O'Connells get a dog (Status: Complete)
1. Default Chapter

The characters in this story don't belong to me, except for the dogs and the people they are given to. I based this story on the Animal Planet movie "The Retrievers"; this story has basically the same plot. I just saw the movie (at 10:00 pm, it is now midnight) so I thought I should write a fic. This story is dedicated to my dogs Buffet and Jo Dee and my friend's dog Sugar and another's friend's dog Max. Thanks, SparklingDiamond   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One   
Going to the Museum  
  
  
  
  
  
It was a cold, rainy London day -not unlike many of the other days that London experienced- when the dog came. Alexander O'Connell, or Alex for short, sat staring out his bedroom window; he watched the rain fall in sheets, trickling down his windowpane. He was upset, as an eight-year old boy, at the rain since his father, mother and uncle had promised to take him to the circus today. However, with the rain the circus plans had been cancelled. "Some other time." His mother, Evelyn O'Connell, had told him at breakfast, ruffling his hair.   
But Alex didn't want to go "some other time"; he wanted to go today. Alex sighed and turned away from the window; he didn't want to watch the rain anymore. Watching it fall wouldn't make it stop, so there was no point. Because of the rain there was nothing to do; he couldn't go outside and his father didn't like him to play in the house. Since the circus plans had been cancelled his mother had gone to the British Museum, where she worked, to help put up more displays or catalog more artifacts. Alex was left in his father's care, Rick O'Connell, which meant all the rules were strictly enforced. That meant no playing in the house.   
Alex stood up and left his room; he might be able to talk his father into letting him go to the museum to help his mother. Now that he was eight -he had just turned eight a few weeks ago- he was allowed to do more things, like help his mother or take the bus by himself.   
Alex went downstairs, trotting down the winding oak staircase that lead to the sitting room. His father was in the sitting room playing chess with his uncle Jonathan. Jonathan was his mother's brother, older by around ten years. Rick was beating Jonathan; lessons from his wife were paying off but not enough for the dashing American to beat his wife at "her own game."   
Alex joined his father in the sitting room, sitting beside him.   
"There you are Alex, sorry about the rain and the whole circus thing. Tomorrow, maybe if the weather is nice we'll go." Rick said as he looked up at his son.   
Alex nodded; he wasn't concerned about the circus right now. "Dad can I take the bus down to the museum and help Mum. Since there's nothing to do around here." Alex asked, he watched his father and uncle move the granite chess pieces around the board.   
"I don't know Alex, if you're old enough to take the bus by yourself." Rick began.   
Alex wouldn't let him finish. He leapt to his feet. "Dad! I'm eight years old; I'm old enough to take the bus to the museum. I've done it a thousand times!" Alex cried.   
"But your mother, or your uncle or I were with you. Taking it by yourself would be different and-" Rick started but once again Alex cut him off.   
"Please Dad." Alex pleaded, regaining his position beside his father. He gave his father one of his "innocent smiles" that he had inherited from his mother.   
Rick looked over at Jonathan, who was trying to use the "father-son moment" to his advantage, trying to cheat. "What do you think Jonathan? Is Alex old enough to take the bus himself?" Rick asked.   
Jonathan looked up, startled. "Oh what, yes sure." Jonathan muttered, not sure what was going on.   
Once his uncle said it was okay Alex was sure his father wouldn't say no. The young boy was right again, his father gave in. Alex yelped in happiness and did a half cartwheel around the room his friend Max, from school, had taught him.   
"Alright Alex there are going to be a few simple rules. You will not go anywhere else then the museum and you will let your mother know the minute you get there. Once you're done you will come straight home, unless your mother is with you. Also don't bother your mother if she is working; stay out of the way." Rick addressed his son.   
Alex nodded, acting as though he was paying attention. He had heard these rules, or variations of them, millions of times before. He ran up to his room to pack his trusty rucksack, which he took everywhere, with things like his slingshot while his father got him money for the bus ride. In his room Alex put his slingshot and a few toy trucks inside his rucksack before slinging it over his shoulder.   
Downstairs his father was waiting with the money and the young boy's raincoat. He also held a brown paper bag. He handed the things to Alex. "There's your money and your raincoat. Put your raincoat on or you'll get sick. In the bag are some snacks I threw together if you get hungry." Rick said, making sure he covered everything before sending his only son off by himself. "And remember the rules, do as you're told." Rick added.   
Alex nodded. "Right dad, no problem. Bye." Alex said and ran outside the O'Connell manor. The rain showed no sign of letter up, Alex let the rain pelt him on the head.   
Rick opened the door and looked at his son. "Raincoat!" He called as he watched his son run down the drive.   
Alex stopped and put his raincoat on; he tucked the money and bag in his coat pocket and then ran down the street.   
Rick stood by the door until he couldn't see Alex anymore. He went back inside, shutting the door and joined his brother-in-law back at the chess table. Jonathan had "managed" to steal all of Rick's chess pieces.   
  
In the city, Alex had no trouble getting on the bus. He deposited the fair and took a seat in the back, where he liked to sit; he looked out the window at all the people hurrying around the streets in raincoats. Alex was glad he was on the bus and not out in the street, in the pouring rain.   



	2. The Dog

  
Chapter Two  
The Dog   
  
  
  
Evelyn O'Connell, beautiful and devilishly charming, sat in front of a wooden desk. There were papers spread out in front of her, more papers then she had expected when she had arrived at the museum earlier today. The curator had been more then happy to see the rain soaked Evelyn because there were plenty of new artifacts and plenty of paperwork to be done and Evelyn was their expert. For the past three or four hours Evelyn had been sitting in the wooden chair in front of the wooden desk doing paper work. Evelyn would have rather been at home with her husband and darling son or at the circus with that same husband and darling son. However, because of the London rain, their circus plans were cancelled. Rick had told her to go down to the museum to get some work done -if she wanted- and he would watch Alex. Foolishly she went down to the museum, telling Rick that she would just "see how things were going and then come straight home". That, however, hadn't happened. Evelyn sighed and went back to filling out papers on artifacts and papers on Ancient Egypt for the Brimbridge Scholars.  
  
In front of the British Museum, Alex had arrived with no trouble. He looked up at the large ancient museum that he had been to since he was young, two or so; the building never looked different outside but it was also was different inside.   
As Alex headed up the large stone steps he heard a small whimpering sound. As an eight-year old child of any gender would do, Alex stopped in his tracks curious. There it was again, louder this time as if the sound-maker knew someone was listening. Alex jumped off the stairs and followed the sound, which was more constant now. It was coming from behind the museum, in the bushes. Dropping his rucksack Alex knelt down by the bush he was sure it was coming from. He parted the leaves and branches and was startled at what he saw. Lying on its back was a mangy, dirty Golden Retriever dog; it was more on its side then back with its four dirty paws out in front of it. Its ears were pressed against its face and it was soaking wet; Alex fell in love with it instantly.   
"Cute boy, come here." Alex said and reached a hand forward. The dog blinked its large, soft brown eyes and moved his head forward. The dog, Alex assumed was a boy, sniffed Alex's hand and licked it. The dog was skinny, ribs were showing but in a way it was plump and round. The dog got to his paws and licked Alex's face, sniffing all the good smells that the boy had to offer.   
Alex laughed and wrapped his hands around the dog's neck; it wore no collar, which didn't surprise Alex, there were a lot of stray dogs and cats in London. The dog wagged his tail and continued licking Alex.   
Alex stroked the dog's back; every time he patted the dog there was a "splot" sound and water sloshed down the dog's back. Alex pulled off his raincoat and draped it over the dog; he pulled the dog's front paws through the armholes. "Dad and Mum say to always wear a raincoat or you'll get sick." Alex told the dog. The dog barked; Alex put the hood of the coat over the dog's head.   
Alex reached into the coat pocket and pulled out the bag of snacks. He opened it. "Here, are you hungry? We have tarts and cookies." Alex muttered and peered into the bag. The dog sat on his haunches and panted, he didn't beg for the food that he smelled.   
Alex pulled out a cherry tart and a butter cookie. He held each one in his palms and offered them to the dog; he held his palms flat, as though he was feeding a horse. The dog licked the cookie off his hand first and then the tart. The dog licked his lips and then licked Alex.   
Alex laughed and fell backward, the dog rolled over on the ground next to him. Alex wiped his slobber-covered hands on the ground and feed the dog the rest of the snacks. It was a hungry dog, definitely a stray. When all the snacks were gone Alex showed the dog the empty bag; the dog sniffed the dog and snorted. The bag expended and shrunk back to its normal size. Alex laughed.   
Alex studied the dog; the dog studied him back blinking his brown eyes. "Before I show you to my mum you need a name." Alex muttered, sure that his parents would let him keep the half-starved dog. The dog barked; Alex put his rain soaked finger up to the dog's muzzle, shushing him. He didn't want anyone to hear "his dog".   
He wanted to name the dog something that had to do with Egypt, since he was part Egyptian. Finally Alex settled on "Seti" after one of the Pharaohs that ruled Egypt. The dog seemed to like the name Seti, so it was quickly settled.   
  
Inside the museum, Evelyn was jolted from her "trace" that she always got when she was hard at work by what she thought sounded like a dog bark. Evelyn looked out the window; the rain was still coming down in sheets and squinted her eyes. A dog bark? Foolish, there were no dogs at the British Museum, the curator repulsed dogs. Still, Evelyn was sure she had heard a dog; better to check then to sit thinking about it all day. Evelyn stood and picked up her own raincoat that she had laid beside her chair when she came in. The rain had all dried off the coat now; Evelyn slipped it on, adjusting the collar. She headed outside to put an end to her dog hearing.   



	3. Seti's Trouble

Chapter Three   
Seti's Trouble   
  
  
  
  
  
Alex heard the opening and closing of the front doors of the British Museum. Not wanting anyone to see him and question him and "his" dog, Alex crawled into the bushes where he had found Seti.   
"Come Seti. C'mere boy." Alex whispered and clapped his hands. Set looked over to him and followed him into the bush. Alex fixed the bush so that it looked "normal".   
  
Evelyn frowned, watching the rainfall in front of her and feeling the rain pelt against her skin, or raincoat. She couldn't believe she had come out in the rain to investigate and dog bark; now it seemed perfectly normal for a dog to be barking, maybe a dog and its master were walking past the museum and it happened to bark. Evelyn was sure that people walking their dogs would stop them from barking if they knew a "jumpy" ex-librarian would come outside in the pouring rain every time one of them barked.   
Evelyn turned and started heading up the stairs when she heard the bark again.   
  
Inside the bush Seti barked, his regal head lifting and shaking water off the bush leaves and onto Alex and itself. Alex clamped a hand over the dog's muzzle. "Shush." Alex pleaded, knowing he would get in trouble if he and the dog were found.   
Evelyn rounded the corner of the museum and listening carefully for the dog bark again. It didn't come; she frowned, hoping she wasn't crazy, she had heard it.   
Alex peered out between some leaves in the bush. The boy gasped. "It's my mum." He whispered. Seti sniffed and bounded out of the bush.   
Evelyn didn't have time to think before the large Golden Retriever leapt out of the bushes at her side and leapt onto her. The dog knocked Evelyn to the muddy ground, barking and licking her face. Evelyn cried out in surprise and tried to push the dog off her. She felt sure that this was a rabid dog and that it had bit her and that she was going to die. She stopped trying to push the dog off her when she realized it wasn't biting her, it was licking her. Licking her face all over and getting slobber on her cheeks and in her mouth.   
The dog's uncut whiskers tickled her cheeks. Evelyn laughed. "Get off, get off you monster." Evelyn laughed and managed to get the dog off her.   
Alex watched Seti "attack" his mother from inside the bush, too surprised to do anything but stare. Now, he was even more confused because his mother was laughing. She pushed Seti off her and began to wipe her face.   
Evelyn wiped the large dog's slobber off her face, still laughing. "Where did you come from you monster you?" Evelyn teased. The dog barked and wagged his tail. Evelyn studied the dog, it was underfed and mangy furred. One of London's many strays. Evelyn scratched the dog's face and under his muzzle; the dog wiggled and made Evelyn laughed. "You are a character aren't you? You are so darling, yes you are." Evelyn cooed, talking like a mother to her infant child.   
The dog barked and wiggled some more; he licked Evelyn's hand.   
Alex decided now was as good as any a time to greet his mother and Seti. He crawled out of the bush, knowing he was going to get yelled at for more then one thing.   
Evelyn and the dog turned their heads to watch Alex climb out of the bush. Seti barked and bounced over to Alex; he jumped over the boy and covered him with licks. Evelyn was as surprised as any mother to see her eight-year old son, soaking wet, crawling out of a bush.   
"Alexander O'Connell!" Evelyn exclaimed as she watched the dog roll around on his back, licking Alex as he climbed to his feet.   
Alex smiled at his mother. "Mum." He said.   
Evelyn was speechless; she didn't have a thing to say to her son other then "Who's your friend?"   
Alex was surprised, was his mother really not going to yell at him. At least, not right now she wasn't. "This is Seti. I named him after the Pharaoh." Alex explained.  
Seti jumped up and turned circles on his hind legs. Both Evelyn and Alex laughed, watching the dog's tricks. Evelyn joined her son, closer to Seti. She took his face in her hands. "Look at you, you're soaking wet. Alexander, I would have thought you'd have better sense then to put your raincoat on a dog. You'll catch phenomena." Evelyn said, looking her son up and down. "Let's get you inside or you'll catch cold."   
Alex looked at Seti. "Mum what about Seti? We can't leave him outside. He'll catch phenomena." Alex said, struggling with the large word.   
Evelyn laughed. "Yes, but we can't bring him inside. The curator doesn't take to dogs, you know that." Evelyn said, looking over at Seti. She didn't want to leave the friendly dog outside anymore then her son did.   
"We can sneak him inside. Please Mum." Alex pleaded, looking up at his mother.   
Evelyn couldn't help but give in.   
  
Getting Seti inside wasn't hard; the curator was in the back of the museum, supervising the creating of new exhibits. Evelyn led her son and the dog up to her "office" where she had been until minutes ago. Once inside, Evelyn shut the door and turned toward her son; Alex was shivering now that they were inside the cool building. Seti looked around and trotted over to Evelyn's desk; as if knowing how important the papers were, he shook water all over them. Evelyn cried out in ran over to her desk; she shooed Seti away and looked down at her ruined papers.   
Instead of "disciplining" Seti, she tended to her son. She had him strip his wet clothes and wrapped him in a warm blanket; Alex sat by the window while Evelyn yelled at Seti for messing up her work papers.  
Evelyn turned to her son. "See, the museum is no place for a dog." Evelyn said. Seti looked up at her and blinked. Then he barked; Evelyn turned to Seti and "shushed" him. "If Mr. Curator hears you then we'll all be in trouble." Evelyn said.   
However, it was too late. Without even knocking the curator, a nearly bald man in his late forties, entered the room. "I thought I heard a-" The curator began but his eyes fell on Seti.   
"What is that horrid beast doing in here!?" The curator cried.   
Seti barked and charged at the curator, barking. The curator leapt out of the way and Seti bounded down the hall, barking. Evelyn, Alex -still wrapped in the blanket- and the curator ran down the hall after Seti. Seti ran into the main part of the museum, past all the people who were there to enjoy the exhibits and bounded into one of the exhibits. Evelyn, Alex and the curator ran past all the people there to enjoy the exhibits and followed Seti into the exhibits. All the people were laughing, pointing and staring.  
Seti had bounded into the exhibits about the chariot race; real sand was on the floor of the exhibit to make it look authentic. Seti turned circles, kicking up sand. He leapt onto one of the chariots and barked; Evelyn leapt from him but he jumped out of the chariot. Both Evelyn and the chariot fell to the ground. Seti barked and ran around the exhibit, everyone was yelling and the poor dog was confused.   
"Seti!" Alex cried and whistled. Seti stopped running and headed over, calmly, to Alex. Evelyn stood up, not bothering to right the chariot and ran over to Alex and Seti. Alex had knelt, stroking Seti's back.   
The curator, panting because of the excursions joined the O'Connells and Seti. "You…Mrs. O'Connell…had better take that horrid creature out of this museum now! And…please wait a considerable amount of time before returning. Good day." The curator. Seti growled and bark; he leapt upon the curator, barking. Evelyn pulled Seti off the poor man. "Out!" The curator yelled.   



	4. No Dog!

Chapter Four   
No Dog!   
  
  
  
  
Evelyn wasn't worried too much about her job at the British Museum; she knew the curator would need her help sooner or later with the new artifacts and filling out papers to send to the Brimbridge Scholars. No, she was not worried so she decided not to let it bother her. What did bother her, however, was the fact that they were bringing home a beautiful, friendly stray dog to her husband. What did bother her was convincing her husband to let the dog stay because it was clear Alex was already attached. And the true was, Evelyn was attached to Seti too.   
Evelyn, Alex and Seti were walking down the sidewalk, since they couldn't take the dog on the bus. The rain had finally stopped, there was only a small drizzle now so the trek wasn't too bad. They walked in silence; Evelyn was trying to think of a way to convince Rick to keep the dog. Alex was walking a head with Seti, stroking his back.   
By the time the trio had arrived at their home, Evelyn had figured out somewhat of a plan. They, she and Alex, would wash Seti and clean him so that he looked like a "nice dog"; then when the timing was right they would bring Seti inside and ask Rick if they could keep him.   
Evelyn and Alex snuck Seti around to the back of the house, to the large garden. "We can take Seti to my tree-fort." Alex told his mother.   
Evelyn agreed that that was a good idea. Alex climbed the ladder first; Evelyn lifted Seti onto the rungs and pushed him upward. Alex pulled Seti into the tree-fort and then helped his mother into the fort as well. "Okay, now what?" Alex asked.   
"We need to clean him. We need combs and water and sponges." Evelyn muttered, counting the things on her finger. They couldn't risk going into the house so they got what they could out of the garden shed.   
After an hour and a half or so of cleaning and brushing Seti, his coat finally glimmered and shown. Seti panted and licked their faces. "Alright, now all we need to do is convince your father that we 'need' a dog. Then we'll bring Seti in the house, he'll fall in love with him and then we'll get to keep him." Evelyn said, patting Seti's head.   
Evelyn, Alex and Seti left the tree-fort, Seti jumped as dog would; Alex took a piece of stray rope and tied Seti up to one of the benches in the garden. Evelyn and Alex left Seti and walked around to the front of the house so that they would come through the front door and not the back door.   
  
Inside the house, Rick heard the front door open and shut. He had been sitting in the parlor waiting for his son and wife to come home; Rick left the parlor and headed to the door to greet them. Evelyn threw her arms around Rick's shoulders and kissed him. Rick broke the kiss and looked down at Alex. "So, you rode the bus okay by yourself I see." Rick said.   
Alex nodded. "I told you I was old enough Dad." Alex answered. Alex decided to use this as a "good opportunity" to ask about Seti. "I'm more responsible now too." Alex added.   
"What are you getting at Alex?" Rick asked, knowing that his son was concocting something inside his head.   
"Rick, before you say no let's sit down and talk about what Alex is thinking of." Evelyn said and motioned for them all to take a seat on the couch.   
  
Outside Seti was not fond of being tied up. He was shaking his head back and forth trying to pull the rope off the bench. Seti growled and backed up, trashing his head. Finally he stopped, realizing that tact wasn't working. He began to gnaw on the rope, which easily frayed. Seti pulled free of the bench and shook himself.   
Inside the manor, Alex and Evelyn had warmed the conversation up to the subject of getting a dog. Rick didn't seem to have a problem with the idea. "A dog? I don't see why not, every boy should have a dog. Like a nice little puppy or something." Rick said, nodding.   
Alex looked over to his mother; he didn't want a "nice little puppy" he wanted Seti. Evelyn shrugged and decided to try a different angle. "Yes Rick, a puppy would be nice but they're hard to train. Why not a full grown dog?" Evelyn asked, she looked at her husband.   
  
Seti sniffed his way to the front of the house; he sloshed through the mud and wet grass, following the scent of Evelyn and Alex. He stood at the front of the house and barked; he kept barking.   
Inside the manor, the O'Connells heard Seti barking. Evelyn and Alex looked at each other, worried; Rick stood up, confused, and headed to the front door. He opened the door to see what was going on outside. As soon as he opened the door Seti charged forward. Rick jumped out of the way as Seti bounded into the manor; he barked and ran circles. He was tracking mud everywhere; Alex, Evelyn and Rick yelled at the dog but that just made him more confused.   
"Seti! Seti stop!" Evelyn cried.   
Seti barked and jumped up onto the couch, getting mud and water all over it. Alex grabbed Seti around the neck like he was hugging him. Seti calmed down but continued barking.   
Rick looked at Seti then to Evelyn and Alex. They had pleading looks on their faces. "This dog?" Rick asked, understanding what the talk about dogs had been truly about.   
Evelyn and Alex nodded; Seti barked. Rick shook his head and walked over to where his son held the dog. "No, absolutely not. This dog is wild and unruly. No, this dog is not staying in our house." Rick said, sternly and grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck. He pulled Seti away from Alex and led him to the door. Seti whimpered and trying to pull away; Rick held him tightly and pushed him outside. "Get out of here!" Rick commanded. Seti whimpered and crawled toward the back of the house, toward the woods that surrounded the house on its right side.   
Rick shut the door and locked it. Rick turned back to face his wife and son. "That dog is not to enter this house again. If you want a dog Alex then we'll get you a dog, a nice dog that's trained." Rick said.   
Alex began to cry, as an eight-year old boy would because he really wanted Seti. He ran up to his room and slammed to door. Rick looked over to Evelyn to confirm that what he had done was the right thing. The look on his wife's face told him just the opposite; Rick sighed and looked around the mud-covered sitting room. At least he believed what he had done was the right thing; that dog would destroy the manor before the door closed. No, this house was no place for that dog.   



	5. Seti's Return

Chapter Five   
The Return of Seti   
  
  
  
The next day Rick and Jonathan went down to the city to pick up a few things, leaving Evelyn and Alex home by themselves. Evelyn and Alex got to work on cleaning up the sitting room; the mud was caked on the carpet and on the couch since it had set all night. Alex was still sad over the lost dog. "Cheer up Alex, you'll get a dog. It just won't be Seti." Evelyn muttered.   
Alex didn't say anything, he just continued cleaning the carpet along side his mother.   
Once they had cleaned the sitting room -as good as it would clean- Alex and Evelyn sat on the couch in silence. Today was a nice day, unlike yesterday, the sun shown through the windows and bathed the now clean carpet. "We could go outside and enjoy the nice weather if you'd like." Evelyn suggested.   
Alex shrugged and half-heartedly nodded. "Okay then, let's go." Evelyn said. The two stood up and put their "outside shoes" on. They headed outside to the back of the house to play catch with Alex's soccer ball.   
Alex only played with half his attention on the ball. Their game stopped when they heard a rustle in the woods behind them. Evelyn and Alex turned to face the woods; a golden, furry head emerged from the bushes. "Seti!" Alex cried happily.   
Seti barked and bounded out of the bushes and headed over to Alex and Evelyn. Alex hugged Seti; Seti rolled around on the ground and wagged his tail.   
Alex looked up at his mother, who was also petting the large dog's soft fur. "Seti came back Mum! Now Dad will have to let her stay." Alex said. Seti licked Alex's hand.   
Evelyn nodded. "Yes but will your father see it that way?" Evelyn said, more to herself then to Alex.   
  
For over an hour Evelyn watched her son play with the dog, rethinking convincing Rick to keep Seti.   



	6. The Doctors Appointment

  
  
Chapter Six   
The Doctors Appointment  
  
  
  
When Rick home, with Jonathan, he was greeted by the sigh of the dog he had thrown out the night before. Alex and Evelyn had given Seti a proper bath in the tub while Rick was gone and had tied a red ribbon around his neck. Alex had protested the ribbon but Evelyn thought it looked "darling" and made Seti more presentable to Rick.   
Before Rick could say a word, Alex rushed up to his father. "See! See, this is the right home for Seti. He came back." Alex said and pointed ecstatically at Seti.   
Evelyn stood beside Seti with her slender hand rested on Seti's head. Rick looked from his wife to his son to the dog in question. Evelyn knew that Rick was about to give in.   
Evelyn was correct; Rick sighed and slowly nodded. "But that dog better behave." He said.   
"Thanks Dad!" Alex cried and hugged his father. Evelyn kissed Rick, her "thank you" for the new dog. Rick looked over at the dog; Seti barked and wagged his tail. "I'm going to regret this." Rick muttered.   
  
Since Seti was a stray Evelyn decided that they'd better take their new dog to the veterinarian's office for a "check-up". So, Rick, Evelyn, Alex, Jonathan and Seti all headed down the city; it was such a nice day they decided to walk. Before they took Seti to the veterinarian, they had lunch; Alex tied Seti up outside and told him that they would bring him a "doggy-bag". Seti just barked and wagged his tail.   
Once lunch was over, before taking Seti to the veterinarian's office Evelyn wanted to get Seti a leash, a collar and other things. Rick, Alex and Jonathan all headed to the veterinarian's office to make an appointment while Evelyn went to the pet shop to get some things for Seti.   
Evelyn was gone over an hour but Rick wasn't too worried about her, he knew how his wife got when she shopped. Finally Evelyn entered the veterinarian's office, leading Seti on a very fancy -very expense- leash; around his neck was a collar with a gold colored nametag. In her other hand Evelyn carried a shopping bag full of other things for Seti. Without saying a word to his wife, Rick and the others went into the back of the veterinarian's office.   
The veterinarian examining Seti looked no older then Evelyn; her long blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore a white nurse type outfit. She smiled down at Seti.   
"So this is Seti, he's a beautiful dog." The veterinarian said. She told the O'Connells that her name was Dr. Whick. Dr. Whick picked Seti up and placed him on a table covered with what looked like, to Alex, a bed sheet.   
Dr. Whick picked up an instrument, which she told Alex, was a stethoscope and put it up to where Seti's heart was. She took down a few notes and ran a few more "tests" on Seti with various instruments.   
"Seti seems to be just fine except for a few things. Number one, Seti is a 'she' not a he. Number two, she is pregnant." Dr. Whick said.   
Alex looked at Seti wide-eyed. "You mean she's got baby-puppies inside her?" He asked, fascinated, as an eight-year would be.   
Both Rick and Evelyn couldn't believe it. "Just 'how' pregnant is she?" Rick asked.   
Dr. Whick shrugged. "It could be any day really. You're lucky you found her otherwise she would have to have her puppies on the streets and they might not survive." Dr. Whick said.   
Evelyn was as overjoyed as her son was; the thought of their new dog have puppies was very exciting. Rick still didn't like the idea of a dog and now they were going to have more then one dog? Worse, lots of little dogs.   



	7. Lost Dog

Chapter Seven   
Lost Dog   
  
After paying the vet bill, the O'Connells headed home. Alex led Seti with her leash, walking beside her. Evelyn and Rick were already talking about the puppies. "Evy, honey, we can't keep all those dogs. How many puppies are dogs supposed to have anyway?" Rick asked, sure it would be a lot. He imagined Seti having twenty or thirty puppies and them destroying the house.   
"Five or six, usually." Evelyn answered, unaware of her husband's thoughts.   
For Rick, that was bad enough. "We can't keep all those dogs." Rick repeated.   
"Let's just wait and see what happens." Evelyn said.   
Rick seemed content enough to follow his wife's advice.   
  
The next day, Alex's first project was making Seti a house so that she could share his room. She also needed a house for all her puppies. Alex ran all over the house, Seti at his heels, collecting odds and ends for Seti's house.   
While their son was upstairs, Evelyn and Rick sat in the parlor/study reading up on dogs and dogs that are going to have puppies. They, however, hadn't found anything that would help with Seti.   
Rick sighed and closed the book he was reading. "Evy, we're not going to find anything in these books about a dog having puppies." He moaned.   
"I suppose you're right. I'm sure that when Seti has her puppies then she'll know what to do." Evelyn said, shutting her book as well.   
Evelyn stood up, Rick watched her. "Where are you going?" He asked his wife.   
"There are some things I think we should get in town. I'll just go myself." Evelyn said, worried about all the things they should have when Seti had her puppies.   
"Hurry back." Rick said. Evelyn said she would and picked up her purse. Since today was another beautiful day, Evelyn decided to walk to town. It would be good for her to get some exercise.   
In town, Evelyn stopped by the veterinarian's office to ask Dr. Whick a few questions. Dr. Whick advised Evelyn on a few things that they could do to help Seti. "Make sure she has a comfortable place to lay and make sure she knows it's her place. That will be her whelping bed where she has the puppies. She needs lots of warm blankets and she needs to feel safe. Don't let your son near her until a few hours after she's had her puppies. Mother dogs are very protective and he might get bitten on accident." Dr. Whick advised.   
Evelyn thanked the doctor for her help and left, hoping she remembered everything. Then she headed to the general store -which was the "all purpose store in the city- to get blankets for Seti and extra dog food for when the puppies were born. For after the puppies were weaned.   
Without much trouble Evelyn got the items that she needed. As she headed up to the counter to pay for the items she passed by a large corkboard with various fliers and such tacked onto it. One of the fliers caught Evelyn's attention. "Lost Dog", the flier read, "Large, female, Golden Retriever, friendly. Answers to the name Sugar." Evelyn pulled the flier off the board and read it over and over again. The dog mentioned in the flier fit the description of Seti perfectly.   
Evelyn folded the flier and put it in her pocket; she hurried and paid for the blankets and dog food -the fact that they might not use the items didn't enter her mind- and hurried home.   
When Evelyn arrived home she found Rick and Alex playing in the parlor with Seti. Despite what Rick said about not wanting a dog, it was clear that he had already grown to like Seti. Evelyn put the shopping bag that held the blankets and such and hurried into the parlor. Seti barked when she entered; Evelyn pulled the flier out of her pocket and showed it to Rick.   
Rick read the flier quickly and then looked down at Seti. Alex didn't know what was going on but it worried him; she stood up and joined his parents, reading the flier as well.   
"No, Seti is our dog now. She's not those peoples' dog." Alex said, he didn't want Seti to go away.   
"Alex, she looks like the dog described in this flier." Rick said, checking the description over again.   
"So? Let's see if she answers to the name 'Sugar', I bet she won't." Alex said, he prayed that she wouldn't. "Sugar." He called.   
Seti's ears pricked up and she ran over to Alex and his parents, barking. Alex shook his head. "No, you're not supposed to come when I call you that." Alex hissed at the dog.   
Seti just barked and wagged her tail. Rick walked out of the parlor and into the sitting room where Seti couldn't see him. "Sugar." He called.   
Seti barked and bounded toward Rick, wagging her tail. Evelyn and Alex followed Seti into the parlor.   
Alex stopped and had an idea. "Cleo." He called.   
Seti barked and turned toward Alex; she bounded over to him. Alex laughed and hugged Seti. "See, she comes to anything. She's just friendly." Alex laughed, overjoyed that Seti wasn't the dog in the flier.   
Rick and Evelyn joined their son. "Right but we'd better take Seti to this address just to make sure she's really not their dog." Rick said.   
Alex looked angrily up at his father. "Why? She's our dog now." He asked.  
"Think of it this way Alex, if Seti doesn't belong to those people then we get to keep her. But if she does it wouldn't be right for us to keep her, even if we didn't go see." Evelyn said, she hoped that they were different dogs. She stroked Seti's back; Seti wagged her tail.   
  
Rick, Evelyn, Alex and Seti all got into the O'Connells' new car -and Rick's pride and joy- and headed to the address that was printed on the poster. Alex spent the whole ride with his fingers crossed, hoping it wasn't Seti that was missing.   
The O'Connells arrived at the address; the house in question was a manor, a slight bit smaller then the O'Connells but none the less nice.   
Rick and Evelyn got out of the car. "Come on Alex. Bring Seti with you." Rick said, looking at his son.   
"No, I want to stay in the car. Seti wants to stay too, if she's their dog they can come get her." Alex said, sliding down in the seat and crossing his arms.   
With some coaxing from his mother, Alex finally emerged from the car, holding Seti's new leash. The four walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. Alex hid behind his mother, making sure Seti was pressed close to his side.   
A middle-aged woman answered the door. "Hello, can I help you?" She asked, her voice was old and kind.   
Rick showed her the flier. "My wife found this flier and we thought we might have found your dog." Rick said. He turned around to face Alex. "Let her see the dog." Rick said.   
Alex slowly unhooked Seti's leash; Seti peeked out from behind Evelyn at the woman. She barked and bounded forward, wagging her tail.   
The woman cuddled Seti and stroked her behind the ears. She smiled and looked at the O'Connells. "Thank you very much. But this isn't Sugar. Sugar has a white left paw." The woman said.   
Alex smiled and called Seti to him; he was happy that Seti wasn't the woman's dog but he also felt sad for the woman because she lost her dog.   
After bidding the woman good-bye, the O'Connells and their dog headed back to the car. Inside Alex hugged Seti. "So I guess this means Seti is our dog forever huh?" Alex said.   
"I guess so." Rick answered.  



	8. Seti's Fortune

Chapter Eight   
Seti's Fortune   
  
  
  
  
A few nights after the O'Connells fully admitted Seti into their family, the puppies came.   
Alex and Evelyn had built Seti's "whelping bed" together, with the help of Rick, and stationed it in the parlor. Seti slept in her bed every night, despite Alex's protests that she should sleep in his room.   
The night the puppies came was just like any other night; Alex, Rick and Evelyn were already sound asleep.   
A little past midnight Alex was awakened from his sleep by tiny whimpering sounds; he opened his eyes slowly, confused at the strange sounds at the late hour. Without thinking, Alex headed straight to the parlor to see if Seti was the one making in the noises. He switched the light on and became wide-eyed at what he saw. Nestled at Seti's side, nursing, were seven tiny puppies; their fur had already been licked clean and was dry. They were already around an hour old; the puppies whined and nursed, unaware that Alex was there. Seti, however, knew Alex was there; she looked up at him, panting and wagging her tail.   
Alex rushed out of the parlor and ran straight to his parents' room. "Mum! Dad! Come quick! Seti had her puppies!" Alex cried and flung himself into his parent's room.   
Evelyn and Rick were startled to be awakened; Rick switched on the light. "Alex what's wrong?" Rick asked. Evelyn blinked in the lamplight and looked at her son.   
"Seti had her puppies!" Alex repeated, louder this time. Rick and Evelyn stumbled out of bed, wearing their bedclothes as was their son, and followed him into the parlor. There, just as Alex had left her was Seti and her seven tiny puppies.   
All the O'Connells fell in love with the puppies as they stood watching them whimper and crawl around but Rick knew that when they were older that they would have to be given away. He didn't know, however, if his wife and son knew that.   



	9. What's in a Name?

  
  
Chapter Nine   
What's In A Name?   
  
  
  
  
The next day, the O'Connells had breakfast in the parlor to be near Seti and the new puppies. Alex kept marveling at how tiny the puppies were; their eyes weren't open so they crawled around on their bellies whining and nursing. Seti watched each one carefully and gave them baths every ten minutes.   
"Seven puppies." Rick muttered as he counted them over again. "You know we can't keep all these dogs." Rick said to his wife and son.   
"Why not Dad? They're so cute." Alex said, he petted one of the puppies with his index finger.   
"Well for one reason, no one has eight dogs. And when they grow up they're all going to be as big as Seti. We can't have eight big dogs in this house." Rick answered.   
"Well, they're too young to go away from their mother now." Evelyn said, smiling down at the dogs.   
"Alright then, when they are weaned and old enough to leave their mother, we'll give them away. Since we're going to give them away I don't think we should name them." Rick suggested.   
The family finished their breakfast in silence.   
  
  
In the next week the puppies opened their eyes and got bigger. They still had no names, as Rick had made clear wasn't going to happen.   
In the month or so, the puppies were old enough to go around the house by themselves. There were four girls and three boys; this pleased Evelyn, she said, "for the first time in this house, the girls out number the boys." Which was true. However, the naming of the puppies was a constant issue; finally the O'Connells sat down with the dogs in the parlor and decided to name them. Alex picked up his favorite puppy, the most rowdy of all the puppies and probably the first-born. "I'll name this one…" Alex paused, he couldn't think of a good name for the puppy. The puppy yipped and nibbled painlessly on Alex's fingers as he stroked the puppy. "Nibbler, I'll name him Nibbler." Alex said proudly.   
Evelyn nodded, that was a good name for the puppy. She picked up her favorite puppy, a little girl dog that was the smallest. When Alex asked why she was smaller Evelyn explained that was because she was the "runt" of the litter. Evelyn liked the little runt and in turn the runt liked her back; she curled up in Evelyn's lap and licked her fingers. "I'm going to name this puppy Julia." Evelyn said and scratched the puppy behind the ears.   
"Julia? Why Julia?" Rick asked, hoping he hadn't hurt his wife's feelings when he asked.   
Evelyn shrugged. "I like the name; she looks like a Julia." Evelyn answered. Julia yipped and wiggled in Evelyn's lap.   
Rick picked up his favorite puppy -though he denied liking the dogs-, which was the second rowdiest and the bravest out of all the dogs. The puppy wrestled in Rick's grip, barking and kicking his paws, trying to prove he was tough. Rick laughed at the puppy's antics. "I'll name you Tiger." Rick said.  
Tiger barked and growled and turned in circles; he liked his new name.   
Together the O'Connells named the rest of the puppies. The remaining boy they named Hieroglyph because he had strange patterns on his foot. The other three girls were named Bobbi -short for Roberta, Evelyn said-, Caramel because she had caramel colored fur, and the last puppy had a white left paw. They decided to name her Powdered Sugar, after the woman's dog that was missing.   
Once the naming of the puppies was done, it was lunchtime. The O'Connells had lunch and Evelyn served eight bowls of dog food. Regretfully, it was time to begin weaning.   



	10. A Walk in the Park

Chapter Ten   
A Walk in the Park   
  
  
  
Rick had finally decided the puppies were ready to be given away. They were weaned and potty-trained and in about a week they would be old enough to leave their mother. Rick told Alex that in a week they would give the puppies away so he had a week to spend with them.   
The morning his father told him that, he decided he wanted to take the puppies to the park. However, the only had one leash and that was for Seti so he and his mother packed all the dogs up in the car -despite Rick's protests- and headed to the pet shop to buy leashes and collars.   
Though they were giving the puppies away, Evelyn thought they should all have collars with nametags, like their mother. So, they bough seven matching leashes and seven tags that would go on seven collars. Each of the tags was labeled with the puppies name; Evelyn paid for the collars, leashes and tags and they headed outside to hand them out. Evelyn slipped the tags on the rings on the collars. "Bobbi." Evelyn said and handed Alex the collar to slip around the dog's neck.  
Alex did so; Bobbi yipped and tried to look at what was around her neck. Evelyn did the same for each of the dogs; Nibbler, Hieroglyph, Tiger, Julia, Caramel and Powdered Sugar. Within no time all the dogs were on their leashes -including Seti- and were headed to the park.   
As the two humans and eight dogs walked down the sidewalks nearer to the park, people around stared and laughed. Seti was in the lead followed by her bouncing, yipping puppies; the dogs seemed to be walking the humans. Once they were in the park, Evelyn and Alex choose and bench and sat down; they took the dogs leashes and tied them to the metal "feet" of the bench. Alex unleashed some of the puppies and began to play with them, rolling around in the lush green grass, while Evelyn brushed up on her knowledge of Ancient Egypt. Alex had unhooked Julia, Tiger, Bobbi and Powdered Sugar; the other puppies pulled on their leashes and whined. Alex unleashed the other puppies and Seti as well; he took out a toy that they had purchased from the pet shop and began to play with the puppies. Tiger and Nibbler wrestled around while Julia and Bobbi played tug-o-war with a lose twig. Powdered Sugar and Hieroglyph played with Alex and the new toy; Caramel wrestled around with her mother.   
After around thirty minutes, Tiger got tried of wrestling with Nibbler and began to wonder away from his family, no one -not even the dogs- seemed to notice Tiger's sudden absence.   
About an hour or so after Tiger had wondered away, Evelyn decided that it was time to return home. Alex, who was tired from wrestling around with the puppies for over an hour, didn't complain. He grabbed all the puppies' leashes and began snapping them on their collars. That was when Evelyn and Alex noticed the disappearance of Tiger.   
Horror stricken, the young boy ran up to his mother. "Mum! Tiger's gone!" Alex cried.  
Evelyn carefully counted the puppies over and over again; there were only six of them. Alex was right; Tiger was not with his brothers and sisters. "Don't panic Alex, we'll find him." Evelyn soothed her son, though she was trying hard not to panic herself.   
Evelyn, Alex and their dogs searched all over the park for over an hour but there was no sign of Tiger anywhere. No one had seen the little puppy and no one could offer them any help.   
As the sun was being to sink in the sky, Evelyn and Alex finally gave up their fruitless search for Tiger. Alex was silent the whole way home; Evelyn didn't try to make conversation with her son, she didn't know what to say.   
When they got home, everyone piled out of the car; Rick was at the door to greet them. He quickly rushed over to his wife. "Are you alright?" Rick asked, worried.   
Evelyn was clearly surprised. "What's wrong? Of course we're all right. Rick, what's wrong?" Evelyn asked.   
Rick followed Evelyn, Alex and the dogs into the manor. "Well, Tiger came home without you so I thought something might have happened." Rick explained.   
True to Rick's words, Tiger was sitting -on the couch- perfectly fine. Alex smiled and rushed over to where the puppy sat; he gathered the puppy in his arms.   
Laughing, Evelyn explained the "loss" of Tiger and their worry over the little puppy. But, none of the O'Connells had any reason to worry anymore. All their "fears" had quickly vanished and all three of them were soon playing with the dogs like nothing had happened.   



	11. Free Puppies

Chapter Eleven   
Free Puppies   
  
  
  
The day had finally come; it was time to give away Seti's puppies. The day before, Evelyn had posted a flier that read "Free Puppies to be given away Sunday" and listed their address, where she had found the flier that advertised the missing Golden Retriever that had been mistaken for Seti.   
Sunday morning, the entire O'Connell household was awake early, each of its residents showed signs of little sleep. By 11:00 am (the time advertised on the flier), the O'Connells had been up for what seemed like an eternity.   
In the backyard, near the garden, Rick had built a makeshift pin to hold the puppies in. Carefully, Evelyn and her son placed the puppies inside the pin; Alex put a few of the puppies' toys inside the pin as well. A chewed up ball, an old hole-filled sock and a chew toy. All that was left to do now was wait.   
Alex silently prayed that no one would come to see the puppies but he thoughts were interrupted when one of the O'Connells maids showed the first potential puppy "stealer" into the garden. This person was a girl who looked no older then twenty; she had black hair with red highlights in it and wore a shirt that revealed her midriff.   
Rick went to greet the girl, who said her name was Maggie.   
"Well, Maggie, thanks for coming to look at the puppies," Rick began, though he secretly didn't mean any of what he said, "they're right there." Rick pointed to the pin with the puppies.   
Maggie walked over to the puppy holding pin and looked down at the dogs; the golden puppies were wrestling with each other and playing their toys. Maggie reached down and picked up one of the puppies: Caramel. Maggie studied Caramel and stroked her fur.   
"This one. I'll name her Turtledove." Maggie said to Rick.   
Alex ran over to Maggie, his father and Caramel. "Her name is Caramel and you'd better call her that!" Alex cried.   
Evelyn ran over to silence her son. "Alex, behave yourself." Evelyn snapped.   
Alex apologized to Maggie, though he silently wished Caramel would bite Maggie's fingers off.   
Maggie left, taking Caramel with her; leaving only six puppies left.   
Soon after Maggie left another potential puppy owner was shown into the garden. This person was a man in his later forties; very well to do who looked like a "Duke" of some kind. He introduced himself as Sir. Timothy. Rick showed Sir. Timothy the puppies, just as he had with Maggie but took the time to introduce his wife and son.   
Sir. Timothy stooped and picked up one of the puppies; Evelyn recognized the puppy as Julia. Sir. Timothy stroked the puppies back and behind her ears; Julia wagged her tail and licked Sir. Timothy's fingers.   
Alex spoke up again, not having learned his lesson from Maggie, and said, "Her name is Julia and you better.."   
Evelyn quickly silenced her son, once again, though she was silently happy that Alex had said something.   
Sir. Timothy didn't seem offended by Alex's outburst. "Julia huh? That's a lady-like name. Well Miss. Julia would you like to come home with me?" Sir. Timothy asked.   
Julia yipped and licked Sir. Timothy's fingers. The man laughed. "It's settled then. Thank you very much Mr. O'Connell." Sir. Timothy said and with that, left with Julia.   
Evelyn frowned as she watched the man take away her Julia. Though many things were buzzing around inside her head, Evelyn kept her mouth shut.   
After the adoption of Julia, two more people came to see the puppies. It was a middle-aged couple, not unlike Rick and Evelyn, and the wife looked about eight months pregnant. The man introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Jackson.   
Mr. Jackson and his wife walked over to the puppy pin; Mrs. Jackson began the say how cute the puppies were.   
"You see, we used to have a cat but all the cleaning of the litter pan wasn't good for my wife so we had to get rid of our little Angel. That was our cat's name, Angel. And we wanted our baby to grow up around animals so he would have a respect for them and we thought 'what better animal then a dog for a little child?' My wife and I saw the free puppy flier and decided to come here." Mr. Jackson was explaining to Rick.   
Evelyn was helping Mrs. Jackson decide what puppy she wanted to get. "We want a puppy that's easy to train." Mrs. Jackson was saying.   
"Well, they've all been house-trained." Evelyn put in.   
"We need a puppy that will be good around a baby, one that won't bite a child if he accidentally grabs the puppy's tail." Mrs. Jackson continued, almost oblivious to what Evelyn had said.   
"All the puppies are very good around my son…" Evelyn began again but once again Mrs. Jackson cut her off.   
"Yes, but your son understands how to handle a puppy. We need a puppy who won't bite a little child who can't understand not to hit or pull on the puppy's ears." Mrs. Jackson said.   
She stooped down and picked up Hieroglyph; Hieroglyph stayed perfectly still in Mrs. Jackson's arms. She looked the puppy up and down. "Are you sure this one is healthy?" She asked, noticing the puppy's almost sedated behavior.   
"Yes, all the puppies are healthy and have had their shots." Evelyn answered. Mrs. Jackson handed Evelyn Hieroglyph and picked up another puppy.   
Mrs. Jackson took Tiger into her arms and began looking him over. Tiger wiggled around in her arms and licked her fingers. "This one is nice. Walter, what do you think about this one?" Mrs. Jackson asked.   
Her husband -Walter- turned around to face his wife. "That one looks spunky. Whichever one you want." Walter said and then began talking with Rick again.   
Mrs. Jackson studied Tiger over some more and then said, "Yes, this one is prefect."   
Mr. Jackson took the puppy from his wife and began checking him over. "Now, you were saying Mrs. O'Connell that all the puppies have had their shots?" Mrs. Jackson said.   
Evelyn nodded. "Yes, but every few months they should have a set appointment at the veterinarians' office." Evelyn said.   
As the Jacksons were walking away, they could be overheard discussing a name for their puppy. Before they entered the house, they had settled on the name "Gum" because it would be cute to her their child calling out the name "Gum" for the dog to come.   
Alex grimaced at the name. "What a stupid name." The boy muttered as he turned around to face the remaining puppies. All that were left were Nibbler, Powdered Sugar, Bobbi, and Hieroglyph.   
Alex wanted to take the puppies out to play with them but his parents said no.   
Soon, another puppy "stealer" came to view the puppies. It was the old woman who had lost her dog Sugar; the O'Connells promptly greeted her. Even Alex said hello, even though he was sure that they were going to lose another puppy.   
"Sugar still hasn't come back yet so I figured that I should get another dog. Though they will never be another Sugar, it would do me some good to get another dog." The woman said.   
Since no introductions were made the first time they met, the old woman introduced herself now. "My name is Angela Lawrence." The old woman said.   
The O'Connells introduced themselves as well. Evelyn led Mrs. Lawrence over to see the puppies; they all crowded around to see her, as they did with every person.   
"Oh they're so darling." Mrs. Lawrence said and tickled the puppies through the pin. Seti got up from her spot near the puppies and walked over to Mrs. Lawrence. Seti sniffed Mrs. Lawrence and studied the old woman.   
"You must be their mother. You have adorable puppies." Mrs. Lawrence said and scratched Seti behind the ears. Seti politely licked Mrs. Lawrence's hand but she seemed to know that she was going to lose another one of her children.   
Mrs. Lawrence turned away from Seti and back to the puppies; she picked one up and cradled it in her arms. The puppy she had picked was Bobbi; she wagged her tail and licked Mrs. Lawrence's fingers. Mrs. Lawrence laughed and held the puppy close to her. "I do believe I'll take this one; I'll name her Tanya. Do you like that name girl?" Mrs. Lawrence asked.   
Bobbi wagged her tail and wiggled around in Mrs. Lawrence's arms. After saying her good-byes to the O'Connells, Mrs. Lawrence left with Bobbi, er Tanya.   
Alex once again grimaced. "Tanya is a stupid name for a dog. Tanya is a person's name." Alex muttered, leaving out the fact that Julia was a human's name as well.   
Evelyn walked over to the puppy pin where Hieroglyph, Powdered Sugar and Nibbler still played. By now, the puppies were beginning to miss their brothers and sisters; the whined and whimpered and crawled over each other.   
Within a few minutes of Bobbi's adoption, another man was lead into the garden. This man was dressed as an explorer; the O'Connells could tell by his beige outfit and rucksack slung over his shoulder.   
"I heard that there were puppies here and I was looking for a dog to keep my company on my 'adventures' if you could call them that. My name is Tyler Edwards." The man said and shook hands with Rick.   
Rick introduced himself and his family and then showed Mr. Edwards to where the remaining three puppies were. Alex called Seti over to the puppy pin. "See this dog, she's their mummy. Her name is Seti and she's mean, she doesn't want anyone to take her puppies." Alex said, looking Mr. Edwards right in the eyes.   
"Alex, don't make up such stories." Evelyn commanded.   
Mr. Edwards just laughed at Alex's lie; he bent down to scratch Seti behind the ears. "Seti huh? A real Egyptian name." He said and then turned his attention back to the puppies.   
Mr. Edwards picked up Hieroglyph and studied the puppy. "This one has interesting markings, what do you call him?" Mr. Edwards asked.   
"Hieroglyph." Alex answered, daring the man to call the puppy anything else.   
"Hieroglyph huh? That's a good name, suits him well. Well then, I do believe I'll take this one. Thank you very much, Mr. O'Connell. And good day to you Mrs. O'Connell." Mr. Edwards said and left.  
Powdered Sugar and Nibbler began to whine and pressed against the sides of the puppy pin. Seti pressed her nose against the sides of the pin and whimpered.   
Evelyn scratched Seti's ears and comforted her. Alex and Rick petted the puppies and comforted them as well.   
For around ten minutes, no else came to see the other puppies and Alex thought that maybe they would get to keep the other puppies; Rick was beginning to think the same thing, he had to admit to himself that having two puppies wouldn't be too bad. Three dogs weren't too many and after all, every boy should have at least one dog, three would probably be better.   
However, before Rick could suggest keeping the puppies, another person was shown into the garden. Another person wanting to take Seti's puppies away.   
A woman, who looked in her mid-thirties and dressed in a posh business like suit, entered the garden and introduced herself as Nurse Chase Hill, or just Nurse Hill.   
"I saw the flier advertising free puppies and I decided to come see what kind of puppies you had. At the hospital where I work, the head doctors and trying a new 'experiment' where we bring animals to the hospital to see how the patients respond to the animal contact. However, the hospital has no money to spend on the project so it was like a Godsend to see your flier. I hope you have some puppies left." Nurse Hill said.   
"Yes, two in fact." Evelyn said and pointed to the puppy pin. Alex and Seti were still by the pin; Alex was talking to the puppies.   
"Golden Retrievers I see, an excellent breed." Nurse Hill said and picked up Nibbler.   
Nibbler looked at Nurse Hill and licked her face; the nurse laughed and began petting Nibbler.   
"This one is a nice one, I think he will be prefect for the 'experiment', he responds well with strangers." Nurse Hill said.   
Alex was confused by all the 'expert' talk, weren't puppies supposed to be friendly to strangers?   
Nurse Chase Hill took Nibbler away without asking about his name or anything else.   
The only puppy left was Powdered Sugar; she whined and cried about the loss of her brothers and sisters.   
As the day was nearing an end, one last person came to take the last puppy. The man's name Robert and he was looking for a birthday present for his fiancé, Kellie. Not disappointed by the last puppy, Robert took her and bid the O'Connells a fare well.  
Now, all the puppies were gone and the O'Connell house was quiet.   
  
  
  



	12. Puppy Search Party

Chapter Twelve   
Puppy Search Party   
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning was a quiet one; the O'Connells and Seti were missing the adopted puppies. Even Rick seemed to miss playing with the puppies with his son. Evelyn only set out one dog dish that morning but it was a waste of time because Seti wouldn't eat. All she would do was lay in her whelping bed and sigh and dog sigh. Her mournful eyes followed the members of her family around whenever they entered the parlor.   
Alex spent nearly the whole day in the parlor with Seti, laying by her side and riding her stories about dogs that found missing people, from books that his mother had gotten him as a little boy.   
Alex also read Seti a story about how a mother dog had saved her puppies from a burning building; she had cared each one of her puppies out, one by one and didn't stop until they were all safe.   
Later, at dinner, Alex said that that was Seti's favorite story.   
"How do you know?" Evelyn asked her son, along with telling him to each his carrots.   
"She told me so." The boy asked, putting a carrot in his mouth with slight disgust.   
Rick laughed. "Seti told you she liked the story, what else did she tell you?" Rick asked, smiling.   
"She told me she wanted her puppies back. She told me that those people were not good people for her babies." Alex answered, total seriousness in his voice.   
Evelyn was surprised that Alex used the word 'babies' instead of 'puppies'.   
All through the rest of dinner, the family was silent. They were all thinking about Seti's puppies.   
  
The next day, Evelyn and Rick slept late; later then they usually did. When they went downstairs, it was no surprise not to see Alex downstairs, sometimes the young boy slept until noon. Sometimes he was up with the roosters but today was one of those 'late-sleeping' days.   
However, around noon Evelyn and Rick were still surprised that they had not seen Alex all morning. Maybe he was just sleeping late but what really bothered them was that they hadn't seen Seti this morning either. Usually it was the dog that woke them up, scratching on the door to go outside. This morning, however, Seti hadn't made a single appearance.   
Rick decided to go check on his son while Evelyn went to see if Seti was all right.   
Rick knocked lightly on his son's door and when he got no response he was sure his son was still asleep. However, he knew that he would feel better if he saw Alex asleep in his bed.   
Rick opened the door to Alex's room and was surprised to see that the bed was empty; bedclothes were folded neatly at the end of his bed and his son's rucksack was gone.   
Before Rick could think any further, he was startled to hear his wife calling his name. "Rick!" She cried.   
Rick ran down the stairs and quickly into the parlor where his wife was standing, by Seti's bed, holding a crudely written note. "It's from Alex." Evelyn said and handed the note to her husband.   
Rick read the note over and over again. "Mum and Dad, Seti ran away to find her puppies; I tried calling her but she didn't come back. I decided to follow her to make sure she didn't get lost. Love Alex."   
"I can't believe he would do something like that." Evelyn was saying over and over again; though it was clear that she was more worried about her son then mad at him.   
"Evy, calm down," Rick said, though he was really trying to calm himself down more then his wife, "he can't have gotten too far, we'll just look for him." Rick said.   
Evelyn seemed to think that that was a good idea; since it was the only idea that they had at the moment.   
Together, Rick and Evelyn set out -on foot- to search for their son and their dog.   
  
Rick and Evelyn searched for hours in Alex's favorite hang-around spots. They combed the park over three or four times, asking everyone if they had seen Alex; they checked all the bookstores and shops of any kind but no one had seen an eight-year-old boy. They even checked by the museum but there was no sign of Alex; it was nearly five in the afternoon and Evelyn was being to become frantic.   
"Don't worry Evy, Alex is a smart kid, he'll come home. He knows his way around London just as well as you do. Besides, he's got Seti with him and she wouldn't let anything happen to him." Rick said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulder.   
Evelyn seemed horrified at the thought that something could happen to her son. "Rick, it's going to be dark soon and he's only eight years old. He's probably scared or…" Evelyn began.  
"Evy, Evy Alex is a brave kid and it's not even dark yet. He'll be fine, he's probably waiting at home for us right now with an explanation." Rick said and kissed his wife on the forehead.   
Together, Rick and Evelyn walked home; though neither of them showed it, both were praying that their son would indeed be waiting at home for them.   
However, when Rick and Evelyn returned home their son was nowhere in sight. While Evelyn dissolved in a string of worried tears, Rick phoned Jonathan and told him everything. Jonathan promised to be right over, and would look for Alex on the way.   
Jonathan arrived shortly after his conversation with Rick but he also bore no signs of Alex. The long hours into the night were long and nerve-racking.   
By midnight, Rick was the only one awake; Evelyn had finally managed to fall asleep on the couch and Jonathan had fallen asleep shortly after her. Rick was too nervous, too worried to sleep; he constantly looked out the large, curtained windows for any sign of Alex.   
Around 12: 30 Rick heard the familiar sound of Seti scratching against the back door to be let inside. Without thinking twice, Rick ran to the back door and opened it; it was Seti, wagging her tail, tongue lolling out of her mouth. However, Alex was not with her; Rick instantly became worried all over again.   
However, Seti began turning circles, trying to tell Rick something. Rick followed Seti out into the garden to discover his son asleep in the grass; the boy had probably been in the garden since nightfall but had fallen asleep before returning home. Rick instantly felt like 300 tons had been lifted off his shoulders as he picked his sleeping son up. He carried Alex back into the house, followed by Seti, and laid his still sleeping son beside his wife on the couch.   
Rick knelt by Seti and began petting her long coat. "Good girl." He repeated over and over again, feeling that he owed his son's safety to the dog. Seti just sat and wagged her tail, occasionally licking Rick on the face.   
While his wife, son and brother-in-law still slept, Rick made Seti a large dinner fight for a "dog-king" to thank the dog even further. Seti ate her dinner and then followed Rick back into the sitting room.   
Before long, Evelyn woke up and upon seeing Alex asleep beside her; the look of worry and fear disappeared from her face. Rick explained how Seti had led him to Alex, who was perfectly fine asleep in the garden. Now it was Evelyn's turn to thank the Golden Retriever.   
Rick and Evelyn decided to let their son sleep, in the morning he could explain everything.   
  
The next morning, Alex woke up very surprised; he was surprised to be inside his house and was surprised to see his parents standing by the couch, waiting for him to wake up. Then, the young boy remembered everything (almost everything) that happened the day before.   
He gave his parents his innocent smile. "Mum, Dad I can explain everything." Alex said.   
"And that's just what you're going to do." Rick said. He and Evelyn sat down beside Alex. Seti joined the family, lying down at their feet.   
"Well, you see it all started yesterday morning. I got up early to see how Seti was doing without her puppies and she was waiting for me by my door. She went down stairs and I followed her and then she scratched like she wanted to go outside; I opened the door for her and she ran out and started running down the street. I called her name but she wouldn't come so I ran upstairs and got dressed and put a few things in my rucksack then I wrote you a note and followed Seti. I didn't want her to get lost or someone to take her so I figured I'd better follow her.   
You should have seen her, she would go from house to house, barking and then listening. She was seeing if one of her puppies were in each house. She really wants her puppies back; we have to get them back." Alex said, pleading with his parents.  
Both Rick and Evelyn looked at each other and then down at Seti; Seti looked back up at them, her brown eyes studying them closely.   
With a sigh Rick said, "Tomorrow we'll see if we can get one of the puppies back. The only problem is we have no idea where the puppies are."   
Alex frowned. "Tomorrow? Dad every minute the puppies spend in their new home they get more attached. We have to find them today." Alex pleaded.   
Evelyn nodded. "He does have a point." Evelyn said, looking at her husband.   
"All right, but we don't know where the puppies are." Rick repeated.   
Alex brightened. "That's okay, we can play detectives like Sherlock Holmes." Alex said. Apart from Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes was Alex's favorite book. Together with Seti, Alex rushed into the parlor to "brush-up" on Sherlock Holmes.   



	13. Failed Test

Chapter Thirteen   
Failed Test  
  
  
  
  
Around lunchtime, Alex emerged from the parlor and went into the dinning room where his parents had lunch waiting.   
"So have you figured out which puppy you want to find?" Rick asked as Alex sat down at the table.   
Alex nodded. "Nibbler, I want to get him back." Alex answered and began to eat his lunch.   
The entire lunch period was spent discussing how to find Nibbler; Alex remembered that the lady who took Nibbler said she worked at a hospital and that her name was Nurse Hill. All they needed to do was find a hospital with a listening for a Nurse Chase Hill.   
After the dishes were washed a put away, the O'Connells -including Seti- got into Rick's prized car and decided to play "guess and check" with the hospitals. Since they had no way of knowing exactly which hospital Nurse Hill worked in, they had to try each one.   
Finally, the O'Connells found the right hospital; the hospital was very new and state-of the art as far as most of the hospitals that were in London to date. The hospital's name was "La Auberge Rouge" (The Red Inn). The title was in French because a French bureaucrat funded the hospital.   
The O'Connells went to the front desk to ask if a Nurse Chase Hill worked at the hospital (as they had done the others) and got the answer they had been hoping for. Nurse Hill worked on for C which was entitled "La Cadeau Bague" (The Gift Ring). This floor of the hospital was indeed shaped as a ring, since the elderly were cared for on this floor it made the patients easier to attend to by the nurses and doctors if all the rooms were close together.   
After checking at the front desk of floor C, the O'Connells were directed to Nurse Hill, who was -at the moment- in her office.   
As soon as Nurse Hill saw the O'Connells, she stormed out of her office holding Nibbler in her arms. She immediately dropped the puppy into Evelyn's arms. "Take that beast out of here   
this minute!" Nurse Hill exclaimed, near screaming.   
"What's the matter?" Rick asked, remaining calm.   
"What's the matter? That beast won't stop biting the patients. I bring that, that creature into one of the rooms and the first thing is does is bite! I am about to lose my job! The patients are complaining of bitten fingers to the doctors. You should teach that beast some manners; now get it out of my sight." Nurse Hill answered.   
Nibbler was trembling in Evelyn's arms at Nurse Hill's yelling; the O'Connells were more then happy to leave La Auberge Rouge and Nibbler with them.   
In the car, Alex managed to sooth the frightened puppy; Seti and Nibbler were more then happy to see each other again.   
When the O'Connells returned home Seti and her puppy played together like mother and son would play. They played with the ball and tug-a-war with the old sock.   
Alex put Nibbler's old collar back on and then went to sit with his parents on the couch, watching the dogs play together.   
"Just think of how happy Seti would be with all her puppies back." Alex said, looking up at his parents.   
Rick had to admit that he had never seen Seti so happy before. "Maybe you're right but if we do try to get Seti's puppies back there will be no more sneaking off without telling us. Is that clear?" Rick asked. He would be more then happy to have the puppies back in the manor, just as his wife and son would be.   
Alex nodded vigorously. "Thanks Dad, thanks Mum!" Alex cried and hugged both his parents.   
"We'll start looking for the puppies tomorrow." Evelyn said and smiled.   
  
  



	14. Death on the Nile

Chapter Fourteen   
Death on the Nile   
  
  
  
The next day, the O'Connells had managed to gather plenty of information on who took Seti's puppies. Since there were six puppies and only three (two really, since Alex wouldn't be allowed to go by himself) of them, they decided to split into groups. Rick would go look for Hieroglyph, after successfully managing to find a Mr. Edwards, while Evelyn and Alex would go get Julia from Sir. Timothy.   
Since Rick had longer to go, he would take the car while Evelyn and Alex would take the bus and walk back home since dogs weren't allowed on the bus.   
After saying goodbye to his son and kissing his wife good bye, Rick got in the car and headed to the listening that Jonathan had managed to find for them yesterday. The address was 251 Limn Kimn Rd.   
The house that Tyler Edwards owned was every bit as nice as the O'Connells. Rick parked the car in the large driveway and got out. He knocked on the door, which was opened my Mr. Edwards's maid.   
"Can I help you sir?" The maid asked.   
"Yes, I'm looking for Mr. Tyler Edwards. Is he in at the moment?" Rick asked, using the same 'proper words' that Evelyn did.   
"Yes, he has just returned from a trip to Egypt." The maid said and showed Rick in.   
Inside the house was just as nice as the O'Connells, polished cherry-wood furniture adorned the sitting room and the stair banisters were cherry-wood as well.   
The maid told Rick to sit down while she got Mr. Edwards; Rick, however, preferred standing up.   
Shortly after she left, the maid returned with Mr. Edwards who instantly recognized Rick. A look for mixed despair and sorrow came over his face; Rick knew something was wrong.   
"Mr. O'Connell, nice to see you again." Mr. Edwards said and shook Rick's hand.   
Rick nodded; when Mr. Edwards offered him a seat, this time, Rick took it. Rick and Mr. Edwards were sitting opposite each other in two of the armchairs that adorned the room.  
"Let me get to the point right away, you see Mr. Edwards after we gave away the puppies my family and I realized that we really should have kept the puppies all along. Now, I know it seems 'rude' to ask you for Hieroglyph back but we really need him back." Rick said.   
Mr. Edwards frowned, the look on his face become more sorrowful. "I had a feeling that was why you were here, Mr. O'Connell." Mr. Edwards began.   
"I'm sure my maid told you that I just returned from Egypt." Mr. Edwards continued after seeing Rick nod. "I took Hieroglyph with me and you see….there's no easy way to put this but there was an accident. In the pyramid, there was somewhat of a 'cave in' or what have you and Hieroglyph was caught under the rocks. I didn't even know he was in danger until it was too later. I'm very sorry Mr. O'Connell, I'm sure there's nothing I can do to make it up to your family, especially your son but I'm very sorry." Mr. Edwards finished, his eyes were mournful like Seti's had been after her puppies were gone.   
It took a moment for the information to really hit Rick but when it did, the only think he could think of was what he was going to tell Alex. "Well, Mr. Edwards, accidents happen. It wasn't your fault, Egypt is full of Death and unexpected things." Rick said.   
Mr. Edwards and Rick rose from their seats and headed towards the door. "Once again, I am very sorry about the puppy." Mr. Edwards said as he walked with Rick to his car.   
Rick said good-bye and pulled out of the drive way; he drove back into the heart of London, thinking to himself. He just hoped that Evelyn and Alex were having better 'luck' then he had, because Alex would be heartbroken if they didn't get any puppies back.   



	15. Party Disaster

Chapter Fifteen   
Party Disaster  
  
  
  
  
Unfortunately for Evelyn and Alex, the bus didn't go as far as they needed, which meant walking the rest of the way. It wasn't too hard to find the address for Sir. Timothy's manor since he was well known in London, especially tonight since Sir. Timothy was having a "grand party" that evening. It also wasn't hard for Evelyn and Alex to know that they were in the right place; Sir. Timothy's manor was more like a castle. Large, well trimmed and keep for bushes surrounded the outer area of the house; flowers were planted perfectly at the base of the bushes. Flowers hemmed the pebble and rock path that lead up to the house as well. Stone and marble statues of lions and other such animals stood in front of the house, as though guarding it from all intruders. The steps that lead up to the house were marble as well; the steps were polished and showed Evelyn and Alex's reflections when they stepped up them.   
The door was oak wood hemmed in gold with golden handles; Evelyn knocked on the door. No one answered; after a few minutes Evelyn knocked again. This time the door swung open; the opener of the door was a short man, with balding hair. He wore a tuxedo and looked very agitated and impatient. He looked at Evelyn and Alex and his lips perused in a frown.   
"Can I help you?" The man asked, his voice very edgy.  
"Yes, my name is Mrs. Evelyn and O'Connell and two days ago Sir. Timothy 'adopted' a puppy from us and…" Evelyn began but the short man cut her off.   
"Sir. Timothy and the rest of the house have no time for trivial puppy nonsense. The only 'puppy' in this residence is Miss. Julia Walters and she is staying. Good day to you." The short man said and slammed the door in Evelyn's face.   
Evelyn scowled; Alex tugged on his mother's sleeve. "Mum, does this mean we won't get Julia back?" Alex asked, looking up at his mother with eyes that pleaded for her to do something.   
"Well, they are probably all busy with party preparations. I'm sure if we spoke directly to Sir. Timothy, he would listen to everything we have to say." Evelyn said, reassuring her son.   
Alex smiled. "Well, how do we talk to him?" The boy asked.   
Evelyn's only answer was to keep knocking on the door until either Sir. Timothy answered or until the short man let them inside the house to see Sir. Timothy.   
The plan, however, did not go as planned. Evelyn knocked on the door over and over again until her knuckles were sore. The first ten times Evelyn knocked, the short man opened the door and told her to 'come back later' or simply to 'go away'. After around fifteen times, he would open the door, see it was Evelyn and shut it before she could even blink.  
Evelyn and Alex stayed at Sir. Timothy's manor all afternoon; they took turns knocking since Evelyn's knuckles were getting red. Around three o'clock, Evelyn and Alex gave up knocking for a while but they didn't leave the porch. To amuse themselves, they played "I Spy" or "The Egypt Question Game" where son and mother would ask each other questions about Egypt. Evelyn figured sooner or later Sir. Timothy would have to answer the door, as soon as they began knocking again.   
Once again, however, that was not the case; around four thirty, five o'clock Evelyn and Alex began knocking on the door again. Each time the short man -whom Evelyn presumed was the butler- answered the door and each time he slammed it in her face.   
As it began to get dark, Evelyn began to wonder if they should head home. Every time she suggested going home to Alex, he would get upset about not getting the puppy back. Evelyn was sure Rick was beginning to worry about them but she couldn't leave Alex alone.   
Until eight o'clock, Evelyn and Alex played games and even invented some. By eight o'clock, cars began to pull up the manor's driveway. Valets opened the doors for the cars' passengers and then parked the cars to the side of the house.  
The party had begun; Evelyn already had a new idea. As the guests began to file into the manor, chatting with each other about the weather or the watering of the flowers, Evelyn explained her idea to her son. When another group of guests filed into the house, Evelyn and Alex would mingle in with them and once they were inside the house they would find Sir. Timothy and ask him about Julia.   
No sooner then Evelyn suggested the plan to Alex (which the boy liked very much) a large group of guests arrived. Taking her son's hand, Evelyn and Alex mingled in with the guests, entering the manor unnoticed by the short butler.   
"All right, Alex now we need to find Sir. Timothy." Evelyn said as she and son began to walk around the huge manor. The inside of Sir. Timothy's manor what much larger and much more furnished then the O'Connells; Alex looked around in awe. Fabulously dressed guests were gathered around tables, sipping white wine from crystal glasses and chatting about meaningless things. A few bored looking guests picked at the hors d'oeuvres that were set out on china plates on long tables in the sitting room.   
Evelyn's blue eyes scanned nervously around the party; though her parents had brought her up for parties like this, they always made her uncomfortable. She was always worrying about the right thing to say or the right expression to put on her face; parties like this were not for her.   
Out of the corner of her eye, Evelyn thought she saw Sir. Timothy enter the parlor. Evelyn turned to her son. "Alex stay right here, I'll only be a second. Stay right here." Evelyn commanded.   
Alex nodded and watched his mother disappear into the parlor which was almost three times larger then the one at his house. As most eight year olds will do, Alex disobeyed his mother's simple order of 'staying in one place'. The party was so big and there was so much to explore that he couldn't just stay in one place. Besides, he wouldn't bother anyone; he would just walk around, maybe try some of the food because he was a little hungry.   
Alex walked toward the heart of the party where women gathered around talking about their husbands in one corner and men grouped together in another corner, talking about their wives. Alex passed by some women looked at him and when they thought he was out of hearing talked about how cute he was and how they'd like to have kids one day.   
Alex stood by the long time with all the hors d'oeuvres were placed and began picking at them. Some of the foods he had never seen before, others he had tasted before at parties that were not as fancy as these. Parties where there were other kids he could play with and normal foods like apple slices and such. Alex began tasting different foods, working his way down the table. Most of the foods Alex despised and discretely placed back on the plates. At the end of the table, Alex had tried all the foods there were and was still hungry; he was beginning to get nervous around all the people because most of them had noticed him and were pointing and talking about him. Alex wished his mum would hurry up and get Julia so they could go home.   
  
Evelyn finally found Sir. Timothy; like Evelyn, the man detested these types of parties (though he, most of the time, was the one throwing them) and had retreating into the parlor for a few moments of peace. Sir. Timothy smiled when he saw Evelyn and went to join her in the foyer; Evelyn and Sir. Timothy shook hands.   
"Mrs. O'Connell, how nice to see you again." Sir. Timothy said, not seeming upset at all that she was at the party uninvited.  
"Please, all me Evy or Evelyn if you prefer." Evelyn said, smiling at Sir. Timothy.   
"So, is your husband and son here as well?" Sir. Timothy asked as he offered Evelyn a seat.  
Evelyn sat opposite Sir. Timothy in an over stuffed armchair. "My son is, yes but my husband is at home." Evelyn answered.  
Sir. Timothy nodded. "I'm sure you're wondering why we're here, at your party." Evelyn said. Sir. Timothy nodded again, though more for an explanation then an angry type nod.   
  
Back at the party, Alex was sure he was blushing at the people's stares and comments. Didn't these people know it wasn't polite to stare and point and talk about someone, especially if that someone was within earshot.   
Alex stared blankly ahead and ignored the people's stares, just like his parents thought him: to ignore unkind things that people said. When he was younger his mother had read him a story called "Bambi" by Felix Salten; in the story the little rabbit, Thumper or Bumper, Alex couldn't remember, said 'If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all'. Apparently, these had never read about Bumper or Thumper.   
In front of him was a long hall that lead to a set of stairs; Alex was aware of someone watching him from behind the wall. He could see little eyes peering out at him; after looking closer, Alex realized that the eyes didn't belong to a person at all but to a puppy. A puppy named Julia.   
Alex called Julia's name, ignoring the fact that people were staring at him; Julia barked and bounded over to him. Julia ran past people, brushing against their ankles and startling them. Women screamed and tripped over the tiny puppy, spilling the drinks all over their fine dresses.   
Julia leapt onto the food table and tripped over the plates; the plates flew off the table and shattered on the ground, food going everywhere. Some of the food even landed on people, causing more screams of surprise and fury. Julia leapt off the table and into Alex's arms; the puppy licked the boy's face as Alex cuddled the puppy close.   
  
From inside the parlor, Evelyn and Sir. Timothy became aware of the 'chaos' that was going on in the sitting room; they could here the angry yelling and the puppy barks. Evelyn knew immediately that her son had something to do with the 'chaos' that was taking place at that moment.   
Both Evelyn and Sir. Timothy quickly stood up and raced out of the parlor and into the sitting. There, Evelyn saw she was right, standing amidst the 'chaos' and confusion that was going on was her son holding the little golden puppy that was Julia.   
As soon as Julia and Alex saw Evelyn enter the parlor, Julia leapt out of Alex's arms and began running down the table again. The little puppy wanted to say hello to her other owner, the person who had given her a name. Julia jumped over a bowl of dip of some kind but her jump came a little short and the puppy landed on the rim of the bowl. The bowl flipped through the air, over the very surprised puppy, and spattered all over Sir. Timothy's prefect tuxedo.   
Alex quickly ran to stand beside his mother, grabbing Julia on his way over; both Evelyn and Alex knew that Julia's 'accident' was going to have horrible repercussions.  
Indeed they were right; Sir. Timothy's face clouded with rage as he turned to face Evelyn, Alex and puppy Julia.   
"Take that horrible, rotten, mongrel and get out of my house this instant! I never want to see any of you ever again! Now get out! Get out!" The man yelled.   
Evelyn took her son's hand and the two quickly rushed out of the now ruined party. When they were out on the porch, Alex looked up at her mother.   
"We got Julia back." Was all the little boy said. Evelyn smiled and kissed her son on the cheek.   
"Now let's get home before your father calls out the armed forces to find us. If he hasn't already." Evelyn said.  
Carrying Julia in one arm, Alex walked hand and hand with his mother down the dark London streets.   



	16. Runaway Puppy

Chapter Sixteen   
Runaway Puppy   
  
  
  
  
Before Evelyn and her son got halfway to their house, they were picked up by Rick who had been looking for them since five o'clock. While Alex and Julia were in the backseat, Evelyn explained everything to her husband.   
By the time the O'Connells arrived home, Alex had fallen asleep in the backseat with a sleeping Julia cradled in his arms.   
  
In the morning, the O'Connells once again gathered together in the sitting room to discuss the puppy finding. While Seti, Nibbler and Julia played together, Rick told his son about the news of Hieroglyph. The young boy took the news better then either of his parents would have expected, probably because there were still more puppies to find so it wasn't like they were losing all of them.   
Once the news of Hieroglyph was out of the way, the O'Connells got down to work on the next puppy. They decided not to split up again but choose one puppy to get at a time. This time, the O'Connells chose to get Tiger back from Mr. and Mrs. Jackson.   
With the help of Jonathan, the O'Connells managed to track the Jacksons down. They lived on 34 Fuller Rd. in the heart of London. With the street address, the O'Connells and their dogs got into Rick's prized car and drove out to Fuller Rd.   
The Jacksons were not hard to find; they lived on the end of Fuller Rd in a semi-large country style house. Leaving the dogs in the car, Rick, Evelyn and Alex got out and went to the front door.   
Alex knocked on the door and then went to hide behind his father because he didn't like the Jacksons very much. Mrs. Jackson answered the door and smiled once she saw the O'Connells. Alex peeked out from behind his father and past Mrs. Jackson to see if he could see Tiger.   
After brief reintroductions, Mrs. Jackson invited the O'Connells inside. She directed them to the sitting room and offered to make them some tea or whatnot.   
"That's all right Mrs. Jackson we came to ask you about Tiger, the puppy we gave you the other day." Rick began, sitting next to his wife on the cream-colored sofa.   
Mrs. Jackson wrinkled her nose at the mention of Tiger's name. "That nasty little dog you gave me; he isn't anything but trouble. Runs around the house all day, he's already broken some of my finest plates." Mrs. Jackson said.  
"See, that's what we came to ask you about; my wife, son and I have decided that we made a mistake in giving the puppies away and would like him back." Rick continued, though somewhat upset at the little puppy.   
Mrs. Jackson's face became a mix of emotion: excitement and worry. "Well, you see Mr. O'Connell, I would more then happy to gave him back I haven't a clue where he is." Mrs. Jackson said.   
"What do you mean?" This time is was Evelyn who spoke.   
"Yesterday after the puppy chewed on my fine tablecloth, I got mad at him and set him outside. When I went outside later to get him, he was gone and I found a hole under the fence. That's where my husband is right now, looking for that puppy. I'm awfully sorry about losing him but it's normal to put a dog outside so I didn't think anything of it." Mrs. Jackson said and frowned.   
"That's alright Mrs. Jackson." Rick said.   
Mrs. Jackson showed the O'Connells to the door and waved as they pulled out of the driveway.   
Once Alex got in the backseat with the dogs, Seti came over to him and nuzzled his hands as though she was expecting her puppy to be hidden in his hands.   
"Dad, are we going to look for Tiger?" Alex asked, hugging Seti's neck.   
"We don't have any idea where he is." Rick said, though he wanted to find the puppy just as much as his son and wife did.   
"Seti can find him, he is her baby. She can find him." Alex said, pleading with his father.   
Evelyn looked at her husband. "Maybe he has a point Rick, Seti might be able to find Tiger." Evelyn said, looking at her husband with the same pleading look Alex had.   
"All right, we'll look for him." Rick said, attempting to sound upset about looking for the puppy but it was no good; his wife and son weren't fooled. Evelyn leaned over and kissed Rick and Alex repeated 'thank you' over and over again.  
  
Once the O'Connells were in the main part of town, not far from where the Jacksons lived, Rick parked the car and everyone inside got out. Including the dogs; Alex hooked their leashes on and held them tightly. "Okay Seti you need to find Tiger. Go on girl." Alex said, whispering in the dog's ear.   
Seti seemed to understand Alex because she started sniffing around, but for around ten minutes she stayed in the same place just sniffing. Rick frowned and then said, "Maybe we should ask some people if they have seen a little puppy."   
Evelyn and Alex agreed. "This seems familiar." Evelyn muttered as she and Rick separated to ask people if they had seen Tiger.   
Alex still stood; holding the dog's leashes while Seti continued to sniff. Suddenly Seti's tail began to wag and she began to wiggle around. Abruptly the dog took off, dragging Alex and her puppies along with her; the puppies barked and ran behind their mother, thinking it was a game.   
Alex, who was still a little tried from lack of sleep, was having a hard time keeping up with the Retriever. Seti lead her puppies and Alex to a large construction site where workers were busy building a new business office.   
Seti stopped at the half-built (or less) building and turned around to face Alex; she nuzzled her collar and leash as if telling the boy to 'let her free'. Alex did and the dog ran into the building; Alex tied the puppies to a metal spike in the ground (one used for foundations) and took off after his dog, not wanting her to get hurt.   
  
Evelyn and Rick had combed the streets up and down, asking everyone in sight if they had seen a little puppy. No one had seen a puppy that fitted Tiger's description so reluctantly Rick and Evelyn headed back to where they left Alex. Only, their son was gone and so were the dogs.   
After calling Alex's name for five minutes, Rick and Evelyn became worried when their son didn't answer. "We promised not to run off like this again." Evelyn muttered.   
Rick began to look around rather then just call his son's name. Evelyn stood in the spot Alex had and looked around; a look of worry was plan on her face.   
However, a man tapped Evelyn on the arm; the woman spun around to see who it was. The man was seated at a near by café, he looked a little older then Rick and herself. "If you're looking for a little boy with a lot of dogs they all went that way." The man said and pointed in the direction Alex had gone.  
Evelyn smiled and said 'thank you' about ten times to the man before calling Rick. She told him what the man said and quickly the two were running in the direction that Alex had disappeared in.   
  
Inside the half-built (or less) building, it was dark and dank. Twisted metal poked out from many spots in the barely formed walls and wooden planks provided the foundations for the building. Alex kept his arms to his side because twisted metal and nails protruded from many spots on the wall and the boy knew that if he got stuck with one of the metal objects he would have to get a shot and he hated shots.   
There were already many floors in the house, over three that Alex could see from where he stood, on the bottom floor. There were holes in the ceiling and Alex could see workers hammering nails and boards. The boy knew he would get in trouble if he got caught but he cared more about finding the dogs that might be lost in the half-built building.   
Neither Seti nor Tiger were on the bottom floor so Alex hurried to find a way to get to the second floor, without being seen by the workers.   
Alex quickly found a set of not even half-built stairs that was missing a few rungs and was barely nailed together. Alex slowly but surly climbed the stairs and snuck onto the second floor. Alex slipped into a room that was devoid of workers and decided to think about his next action in there.   
Before he had too long to think, he heard the sound of dog barking. He could barely hear it because of all them hammering and noise that the workers were making.   
Alex waited a few minutes and then heard the barking again; Seti might have found Tiger or it was Tiger who was barking. Alex really couldn't be sure because to him, all the dogs sounded the same. Alex snuck out of the room and dodged a few workers and managed to sneak onto the third level by way of another shaky staircase.   
On the third level there were many more workers and the sides of the level were missing, which meant this was the top level -so far- of the building. Alex hid behind a support beam and swallowed, not looking down. He had been wary of heights and high places ever since he was six and fell down a tree; he didn't want to go through anything like that again.   
The third level was a lot bigger then the others because Alex couldn't see either of the dogs from where he hid and he was sure that they were up here because there was nowhere else to go. On this level there were also large machines that lifted planks and large stone pipes that Alex was sure were for plumbing, to the workers that would install them. Alex watched the machines raise the level and the workers take the boards and whatnot off the crane type object.   
  
Evelyn and Rick reached the construction site and knew Alex was there because they saw the puppies tied up on a metal spike.   
"You don't think he's actually in there Rick, do you? He knows better then that." Evelyn cried when she saw her son was not with the puppies.   
"Calm down Evy, just wait right here and I'll go ask one of the workers if they have seen him." Rick said.  
Evelyn frowned. "I'm coming too." She said, sounding like a child who has been told that he can't go with his older brothers fishing or whatnot.   
Rick frowned. "For once, Evy, stay here please." He said, looking at his wife.  
Evelyn nodded and watched her husband enter the half-built house and disappear to look for their son.   
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Rick saw a tiny golden puppy walk over to one of the machines that was bringing up pipes for the workers to install. The workers didn't seem to notice the puppy climb inside one of the pipes but Alex did. Alex quickly snuck past the workers and over to the pipe where Tiger had crawled into; the workers didn't notice him either, they were too busy putting up foundations.   
"Come on Tiger, come on boy." Alex coaxed at the mouth of the pipe.   
Tiger turned around and looked at Alex; the puppy yipped and continued down the long pipe. Alex knew that if Tiger kept walking he would fall out of the pipe and he might not be as lucky as Alex had been when he fell out of the tree.   
Alex climbed into the pipe, which was just big enough for him to fit in, with a little space left.   
  
Rick hadn't found his son on the first floor but he had found Seti; Seti had come running up to him, barking and turning circles. "What's wrong girl? Where's Alex?" Rick asked the dog.   
Seti barked and ran toward the unstable stairs and barked; Rick followed Seti to the stairs and carefully climbed them.  
On the second level, Rick was spotted by one of the workers. "Hey! What are you doing here? You can't be here!" The worker shouted and came over to Rick.   
"I think my son is lost in here, have you seen him?" Rick asked, hoping the worker had.   
The worker just shrugged. "No, it's awfully dangerous for a boy to be here. Are you sure he's in here?" The worker asked.   
"I think my dog is lost in here too, that's why my son came in, after his puppy." Rick answered.   
The worker handed Rick his hard-hat and directed Rick to the stairs that lead to the second level. Rick thanked him and he and Seti followed the man's directions to the third level.   
Once Rick and Seti were on the third level, they went to one of the workers to ask if they had seen Alex. Once again no one had but Seti began to bark and turn circles.   
  
Alex was aware the pipe had begun to move as he crawled through it; he continued calling Tiger but the puppy refused to come to him.   
"Tiger, come on Tiger. Please come on Tiger." Alex pleaded and continued crawling along on his hands and knees. The puppy yipped and faced Alex but continued walking down the pipe; Tiger was about halfway through the pipe and Alex was about a quarter way through.   
  
Once Rick told the workers that his son was missing, they ordered all work to be stopped. Some of the workers filtered out to look for Alex but he was nowhere on the third level; Rick began to think that the boy was not in the building at all but Seti was acting as though he was. Rick began to call his son's name, while the workers continued searching.   
  
From inside the pipe, Alex heard someone calling his name; he stopped to listen and became aware that it was his father calling for him. "Dad!" Alex called, over and over from inside the pipe. Maybe his father would be able to get Tiger to come away from the pipe.   
  
Rick heard his son calling but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. After looking around, Rick realized that the sound was coming from inside the pipes that were in mid-air. "The pipes, he's in the pipes." Rick said to the workers, who all turned to face the pipes that were swaying dangerously in the air.   
The workers began shouting for the machine's driver to bring the pipes back to the level but he couldn't hear them because of the noise the machine made.   
  
Finally, Alex managed to grab Tiger's scruff and clutched the puppy to his chest. Tiger began to whimper and lick Alex's hands; Alex peered over the side of the pipe and became dizzy. He became aware the pipe was in midair and there was no way for Alex to exit the pipe; the young boy began to cry and wish he wasn't in the pipe at the moment.   
  
From the third level, Rick was slightly aware that his son was crying. "Alex, hang on Alex!" Rick cried and headed back to the bottom level to look at the situation from the ground.   
When Rick rejoined his wife outside, he was greeted with his wife's question, "Where is he? Is he in the building?" Then Evelyn noticed Seti and became worried. "Rick, where is he?" Evelyn cried.   
Reluctantly (he didn't want to worry Evelyn) Rick pointed to the pipes that hung in mid air. Rick quickly explained everything to his wife as they ran over to the machine.   
  
Alex peered out of the pipe again and saw his mother and father beneath him. Alex began to cry harder and yell for his parents; Evelyn peered up at her son and told him not to move.   
Rick talked to the driver of the machine who quickly and steadily brought the pipes back to the ground. As soon as the pipes touched the ground, Alex crawled out of them and threw himself into his mother's arms.   
Evelyn hugged her son tightly and kissed his forehead over and over again. Then Alex was embraced by his father; his parents looked near tears as well, happy that their boy was all right.   
"Alex, I don't want you ever to do that again." Both his parents instructed in between kissing his son.   
Alex showed them Tiger, proud that he had saved the puppy. Both Rick and Evelyn agreed that their son was brave, though he needed to think before he acted.   
Once again, Seti was also thanked for saving Alex; Rick thanked Seti for showing him where Alex was, on the third level. The O'Connells and the dogs all headed back to the car, all a little shaky about what had just happened.   
  



	17. Take Her

Chapter Seventeen   
"Take Her"   
  
  
  
  
  
For the rest of the day, the O'Connells decided to take it easy and tomorrow they would get the two remaining puppies from their 'owners'. Alex slept well that night, as did everyone else in the O'Connells house.  
In the morning, everyone gathered in the parlor to discuss where the other puppies were. Alex remembered that the girl who took Caramel said her name was Maggie; after a few calls, Evelyn found out her name was Maggie Roberts and she lived on 56 Belmont Court, which was not too far from where the O'Connells lived though the houses in Belmont Court were not even close to as nice as the O'Connells' house.   
The O'Connells had no problem remembering where Powdered Sugar was since they had already been to the old woman's house once. So the O'Connells and the dogs got in the car and headed off to Belmont Court to get Caramel back.   
Within ten minutes, they had reached 56 Belmont Court; the house was small and run down, in desperate need of repair. Leaving the dogs in the car, the O'Connells headed to the front door; Rick knocked on the door. They stood and waited for Maggie or someone else to answer the door but no one did.   
From the back of the house they heard anguished puppy howl; from inside the car, Seti was barking and scratching at the window. Rick, Evelyn and Alex headed to the back of the house to see what was making the heart wrenching sound, though they were sure they already knew what it was.   
When they got to the back of the house, they saw Caramel tied up on a rope to a metal spike; she was dirty and looked as though she hadn't been feed or hadn't had water since she left the O'Connells house. Quickly, Evelyn ran over to the puppy and untied the rope from around her neck; the rope had cut into her soft neck and rubbed it raw.   
Evelyn carried the abused puppy back to her husband and son, holding her close. The O'Connells were surprised to see Maggie exit the house and walk over to them.   
"What are you doing with my puppy?" Maggie asked, frowning and eyeing the shaking puppy in Evelyn's arms.   
"Did you ever give this puppy any food or water?" Rick asked, not bothering to answer Maggie's question.   
Maggie shrugged. "I forgot." She answered, frowning.   
Alex's face became a mask of disgust as he looked at Maggie; she had hurt Seti's poor puppy, why would anyone do that?   
"Well, then you can forget that you ever owned this puppy because we're taking her back." Evelyn snapped, holding the puppy tighter to her.   
"Fine, take her. I don't want her anyway." Maggie said.   
The O'Connells quickly took Caramel back to their car and drove away without looking back. Evelyn handed Alex Caramel; Seti nuzzled the poor puppy and licked her neck.   
"Mum, why would anyone hurt a poor baby puppy? Caramel never did anything to Maggie." Alex said, as he petted Julia's back.   
"I don't know Alex." Was all Evelyn could say.   
The O'Connells finished the rest of their ride home in silence, though they were all thinking about the same thing.   



	18. A Good Home

Chapter Eighteen   
A Good Home   
  
  
  
As soon as the O'Connells got home, they gave Caramel food and water as well as the others dogs and had lunch themselves. By the time lunch was over, Caramel had had five helpings of dog food and lots of water. When the puppy was satisfied, she joined the rest of her family in a game of wrestling on the floor of the sitting room. The O'Connells decided to leave the dogs in Jonathan's care while they went to Mrs. Lawrence's house to get Powdered Sugar.   
The drive was not long and on the way Evelyn, Alex and Rick played 'I Spy', which was Alex's new favorite game. When they reached Mrs. Lawrence's home, they all climbed out and Alex was in high-sprits about getting the last puppy back.   
Evelyn knocked on the door and Mrs. Lawrence answered the door. "Hello again." Mrs. Lawrence said and immediately showed the O'Connells in. She offered them a seat in her small sitting room and then offered them tea, the O'Connells said they were okay and sat down across from Mrs. Lawrence.   
"Mrs. Lawrence, there's something we need to ask you." Rick began.   
"I know, why you're here. Hang on one minute. Tanya, come here Tanya. Come on girl." Mrs. Lawrence called.   
The O'Connells were slightly surprised that Mrs. Lawrence seemed to know that they wanted Powdered Sugar.  
Powdered Sugar, or Tanya, bound into the room and jumped into Mrs. Lawrence's lap. The puppy looked over at her former owners and yipped.   
"You came to see if she was well taken cared for. Well, she's fine as you can see, aren't you Tanya. That's very responsible of you, to see how the puppy was doing because you didn't know anything about me." Mrs. Lawrence said and stroked the puppy's fur.   
Alex looked up at his parents, who were looking at each other, exchanging worried looks. Mrs. Lawrence handed Tanya to Alex. "You can say good-bye if you want." Then she turned to the O'Connells. "You should see the cute little bed Tanya has, though most of the time she sleeps in my bed." Mrs. Lawrence said, full of pride at the mention of Tanya's bed.   
Alex looked down at the puppy in his arms and felt like he was going to cry; he could just run away with the puppy because after all, Tanya really belonged to them because Seti was her mother.   
Evelyn and Rick looked at their son, sure that he was going to run away with the puppy. They couldn't blame Alex if he did run away with Powdered Sugar/Tanya.   
However, Alex petted the puppy's back and then handed her back to Mrs. Lawrence. "She told me that's she really like it here, Mrs. Lawrence." Alex said, on the verge of tears.   
Mrs. Lawrence smiled. "I'm glad she likes it here, I'm glad to know that I am doing a good job of taking care of her." The woman said, still smiling.   
"Take good care of Tanya, Mrs. Lawrence." Alex said and stood up, reading to leave.   
His parents stood up as well, slightly surprised that Alex had called the puppy 'Tanya' instead of 'Powdered Sugar'. After bidding their farewells to Mrs. Lawrence and Tanya, the O'Connells showed themselves out.   
Once they were outside, Alex clung to his mother and began to cry. "That was a very good thing you did Alex." Evelyn said and hugged her son.   
Alex simply shrugged and by the time they were to the car, the boy had stopped crying regained his normal attitude. In the car Alex said, "She really did tell me she liked it at Mrs. Lawrence's house, that's why I let her stay because she liked it there."   
Rick nodded. "I'm sure she loves it at Mrs. Lawrence's house." Rick said.   
On the way home, the O'Connells played 'I Spy' again and they all rested easy knowing that Tanya was well taken car off.   



	19. Lost and Found

Chapter Nineteen   
Lost and Found   
  
  
  
When the O'Connells returned home, they were surprised to see Jonathan attempting to play Poker with Seti. The cars were spread on the table and they each had Poker chips and a hand of cards.   
"What are you doing Uncle Jon?" Alex asked as he stood by his uncle's side.   
"I thought this dog to play Poker, she's a cheeky little devil at it too." Jonathan answered.   
Rick and Evelyn joined Jonathan and Alex. Evelyn just laughed as she looked at her brother and her dog playing cards.   
"She's winning too, the little scamp." Jonathan added. Everyone in the room but Jonathan laughed so hard that their sides hurt.   
Seti just barked and knocked one of the chips onto the table and nosed one of her cars. Jonathan overturned the card and scowled. "Beat me again, little bugger." Jonathan muttered and pushed the chips over to Seti.   
The O'Connells just laughed harder; Alex looked around the sitting room to see all the puppies playing together, his mother and father sitting together on the couch, and he and his uncle Jonathan teaming up to beat Seti at Poker.   
Alex realized that this was the prefect family; that the only thing that they didn't want was they only thing that they needed and they had lost it but found it again. Alex smiled to himself as he dealed Seti her cards.   
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know the dogs weren't in my story about Jennifer, I don't plan for the dogs to be in any of my other Mummy stories. I just wrote this story for fun and I started this one after I started my story about Jennifer so I couldn't put the dogs in anyway. I hope you enjoyed the story!   



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